Menu
  • Excerpts
  • Exhibits
  • Collections
  • Originals
  • Categories
  • Map
  • Search
Bylines

Ben Zimmer

All Articles Related to This Author
Viewing 1–6 of 6 written by Ben Zimmer
President Nixon at the Orlando, Fla. question-and-answer session where he uttered ‘I am not a crook.’

‘Crook’: When Nixon Said He Wasn’t One, There Was Still a Twist to Come

A president’s infamous protestation 50 years ago during Watergate relied on an Old Norse term for things that take a turn.
by Ben Zimmer via The Wall Street Journal on November 17, 2023
Weird Al Yankovic, Lizzo, and Beyonce with their mouths covered by black bars indicating censorship.

The Surprising History of the Slur Beyoncé and Lizzo Both Cut From Their New Albums

How did the controversial term go from middle-school slang to verboten? The answer lies on the other side of the Atlantic.
by Ben Zimmer via Slate on August 3, 2022

The Evolution of 'Racism'

A look at how the word, a surprisingly recent addition to the English lexicon, made its way into the dictionary.
by Ben Zimmer via The Atlantic on September 4, 2020

The Origins of the 'Globalist' Slur

The anti-Semitic seeds of its use were firmly planted 75 years ago.
by Ben Zimmer via The Atlantic on March 14, 2018

A Productive-Ass Suffix

An early use of the spoonerism "bass-ackwards" turns up in an 1840s letter by a young Abraham Lincoln.
by Ben Zimmer via Language Log on January 29, 2018

'I Want to Kick Ass' in 1862?

Evidence that the idiom could be 100 years older than was previously thought.
by Ben Zimmer via Strong Language on October 5, 2017
  • How Bunk Works
  • Who We Are
  • About Bunk
  • Recommend a Resource
  • Bunk on Instagram
  • Bunk on Twitter
  • Bunk on Bluesky
brought to you by
© Bunk History